what is Psychotherapy?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive thinking and obsessive behaviour in the form of rituals are common complaints with the psychotherapy setting. We can say this is because in perhaps every therapy case, even non-obsessional cases, it is a feeling of stuckness or going in circles that impels a person into therapy in the first place.

The psychotherapist does not distinguish between OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) behaviour and thinking in that the former is always seen as deriving from the latter. In both cases, it is a form of suffering characterised by intrusive thoughts and a combination of guilt and anxiety that compel the individual into his or her vicious cycles in a vain attempt to assuage the invasive feelings. The OCD sufferer is likely to be highly compromised in his her quality of life. Emotionally exhausting rituals and anxious thinking processes can damage work prospects, personal relationships and self-esteem.

Symptoms of OCD can include obsessive cleaning, washing, repeated checking and a disturbing pre-occupation with unpleasant doubts, thoughts or ideas.

I have extensive experience of working with OCD. In my practice, the client in therapy is encouraged to not limit their reflections to the symptom itself but to acknowledge that coming to therapy is itself an admission that this symptom has not ‘worked’ for them, and that by challenging the OCD its underlying causes must be analysed. This entails the telling of their wider story, exploring the roots of the anxiety (often in pernicious ideals internalised by the then-child) and being helped to come to terms with early experiences and to move forward in their life.